


What's in a Name

by fangirl_squee



Series: homies help homies, always [10]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-18
Updated: 2013-04-18
Packaged: 2017-12-08 19:54:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/765349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though Grantaire hasn't spoken to his parents in two years, they still managing to cause him trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's in a Name

**Author's Note:**

> This is set prior to Rainstorm.

Cosette sometimes takes her homework over to Marius’ place. It’s nice to spend time with him while they do homework, and yes, they do occasionally blow off studying in favour of fooling around. If they are going to actually study though, they tend to work in the kitchen, spreading their books over the table.

 

Grantaire usually makes himself scarce most of the time, giving them space, but today he wanders in and out of the kitchen every ten minutes, opening and then closing the fridge without getting anything out.

 

Finally, Grantaire pauses at the open fridge, sighs, and gets out a bottle of water. “I’m going out back.”

 

Marius frowns at Grantaire’s retreating form for a moment before turning back to his work. “Okay.”

 

“What was that all about,” when Marius looks confused, she adds, “with the water.”

 

“Oh, a fight with his sister, well argument, well,” Marius seems to not want to settle on any particular term, “more like a slight disagreement. Or a kind of frustrated discussion?”

 

“How can you tell it’s his sister?” she’s curious now. “How do you it’s not something else?” _Like Enjolras_.

 

“There’s a system to it”, says Marius, tapping his pen absent-mindedly on the page as he looks out the window. She can’t see Grantaire, but she can see the trail of cigarette smoke. “If it’s family stuff, he drinks water outside. If it’s something else, he takes whatever alcohol is in the fridge to his room.”

 

“Did you want to go sit with him? The studying can wait.”

 

“I – Yeah, if you don’t mind? Just for a little while. He and Claire are pretty close, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

 

Marius looks pretty concerned anyway, so Cosette shoos him out. She’s worked through three pages when Marius comes back inside.

 

“He’s calling his sister now.”

 

He doesn’t offer up any other information, but then again, Cosette supposes it is quite personal.

 

 

-

 

 

Grantaire’s parents, as a rule, don’t call him. When they want him to know something, they tell Claire, and she passes it along to him. They might not be happy that she’s divorced, but she’s still a respected lawyer, while he’s an _art student_. He brings shame onto his parents with every painting and every sketch. Every line on a page is a mark against his good family name.

 

Which is why he doesn’t usually tell people his family name. Most people assume that Grantaire _is_ his last name (or, at least, some nickname-version of it), and Grantaire is quite happy for people to think that.

 

Marius knows, of course, because Marius knows everything.

 

(And also because Grantaire hadn’t moved fast enough when he was getting Marius to sign a copy of their lease.

 

“Oh,” Marius had said, eyes wide, “are you related to –“

 

“Yes,” said Grantaire. He’d glared at Marius, daring him to talk about it.

 

But Marius hadn’t. He hadn’t even treated Grantaire any differently, and he never mentioned Grantaire’s parents to anyone else. Marius might not be very good at keeping secrets about himself, but he is like a vault about anyone else’s.)

 

His sister usually calls him once a week (although if her caseload is heavy it can be more like once a month) and usually she avoids talking about their parents, unless they’ve made the news. Incredibly high-priced criminal attorneys have a tendency to do that.

 

Talking about their parents usually leads to a fight, because Grantaire is completely free of their expectations now (their opinion of him couldn’t possibly get any lower, really), but Claire still has to be civil to them. She might not work at the same firm as them (she doesn’t even have the same last name any more), but they could still affect what cases she gets. It drives Grantaire insane, even though he understands that’s just how this works, how his parents will always work.

 

And so, when she’d called to tell him about their parent’s new case, they’d fought. Their parents are not the kind of lawyer who only take on the morally-acceptable clients. They take on a select clientele of Big Business, Rich Tycoons, and the occasional High Profile News-maker, and most of the time they win (or settle discreetly out of court). It’s the last kind of client that irritates Grantaire to most, and it’s that sort of client they have right now.

 

They’re part of the defence team for the city police officers who are involved in the “wrongful and unlawful _beating_ of _six young innocent college students_!” (this is how Enjolras has described the case during their meetings. He hasn’t noticed how Grantaire slides slightly down in his seat any time this particular case is mentioned).

 

His parents, along with other members of the legal defence team (some of whom Grantaire recognises from his parents parties, and others who must be new additions to their firm), have been on television all week. Every single interview seems to send Enjolras further into a rage. Usually when he gets to this point Grantaire will interject, poking holes in his arguments and syphoning his rage into something more reasonable and concise. He just can’t seem to bring himself to do it this time though.

 

It’s not for love of his parents, certainly not. But there’s something about backing his parents arguments that makes his skin crawl a little, and Grantaire can’t quite put his counter-points into words the way he usually would, so it seems better to just stay silent.

 

So, of course, Enjolras builds to a rage against the defence team as well. His list of their faults is long - obviously these people are heatless, obviously they have _no morals_ , how could anyone connected to these people even stand to be around them, how could their families stand to look at them, it makes Enjolras _sick_ to think that these people have families. He cannot believe their families stand by, silent, while they defend these _monsters_.

 

Enjolras’ words make his stomach churn. A part of Grantaire wants to say that he’s _sorry_ that this is what his parents do, that if he could stop them he would, because it makes him sick too. But the rest of him wants Enjolras to never ever find out that he’s ever so much as been in the same room as these people.

 

Grantaire leaves the meeting as soon as it’s over, and manages to get all the way to Marius’ car before he starts dry-heaving. He hasn’t really eaten anything since he saw mother’s interview on a late-night talk show yesterday. He puts one hand on the side of the car to steady himself, and wishes that his parents did anything else for a living.

 

After a minute or two there’s a warm hand on his back.

 

“Are you okay?” Marius’ voice is soft, “Enjolras shouldn’t have said that, even if he doesn’t know they’re your parents.”

 

“Don’t tell him,” says Grantaire quickly.

 

Marius rubs small circles on Grantaire’s back. “I won’t if you don’t want me to. But I think _you_ should.”

 

“I think Enjolras’ opinion of me is low enough without knowing that I’m the spawn of Satan, thanks.”

 

“I don’t think he ever used religious imagery.”

 

Grantaire laughs at that. He wipes his mouth and straightens, leaning a little on Marius.

 

Marius has already said their goodbyes, and Grantaire has never been so glad to escape social pleasantries in his life. Marius hums to fill up the silence of the car on the way home. Neither of them wants to turn the radio on during a news hour at the moment (they know more facts about the case than are featured in most of the public radio broadcasts anyway).

 

Although it’s still early, they go through the motions of getting ready for bed, and Marius follows Grantaire into his room.

 

“I was going to work on stuff for a while,” says Grantaire, leaning against the headboard and pulling out his sketchpad.

 

Marius lies down next to him, head resting against Grantaire’s side. “That’s okay.”

 

“You know,” says Grantaire after a few minutes, “I am all grown up. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

 

Marius is tapping away on his phone (from this angle, Grantaire can read Cosette’s name at the top), “I know.”

 

Marius is three-quarters-asleep by the time Grantaire is done for the night.

 

“It’s a good thing you’re already in your pyjamas,” says Grantaire, moving Marius’ legs under the cover before he pulls it over them both.

 

“Mmmmwhat?” Marius raises his head a little, his eyes half lidded.

 

Grantaire huffs a laugh, and leans over to switch off his bed-side lamp. “Yes, exactly. Goodnight Marius.”

 

“G’night.”

 

When he lies down Marius huddles against his side, and Grantaire moves his arm to prevent it from being pinned underneath Marius all night (he’s a lead weight when he’s like this, and he sleeps like the dead).

 

Grantaire falls asleep easier than he has all week.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always loved: fangirl_squee.tumblr.com/ask


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